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Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast

Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast
Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast
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  • Romance, Thrillers, and Dragons: The Most Anticipated Book Adaptations Coming Soon
    This episode of the Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast kicked off, as always, with what’s on our nightstands. Shirin had her hands on Phantasma, a book that had been hyped all over, but halfway through, she was feeling let down. The Southern Gothic mood is solid, but the story lacks that punch. The tasks and trials within it are underwhelming, and she doesn’t really care much about the characters. It’s supposed to have demons, ghouls, and Hunger Games-style drama, but right now, it’s all feeling kind of flat.Meaghan tried to make her feel better and pointed out that hype can do that. Sometimes a book gets treated like it’s the second coming, and when we finally read it, it’s just... fine. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing revolutionary either. Not all weird, sexy, haunted house books with blood dripping from the ceiling are for everyone.On the upside, Meaghan read Home Fires Burn by Canadian author Anthony Bidulka. It’s the third book in a mystery series starring Mary Bell, a trans private investigator who returns to rural Saskatchewan after years away.Meaghan loved the local setting and the fact that it wasn’t just another Toronto-centric story. The mystery held up, the character work was sharp, and it made her want to read the first two books in the series. Big points for regional Canadian representation and thoughtful, layered characters.Adaptations Galore: What’s Coming to Screen (and Fast)The main theme of this episode was all about book-to-screen adaptations. what’s coming soon, what’s in production, and what we’re dying to see. We decided to trade picks one by one and see who could out-excite the other.Shirin went first with My Oxford Year, a romance novel about an American woman at Oxford who gets swept up in an English romance. She loves the academia + England combo, so this one’s basically catnip for her. Sofia Carson and Corey Mylchreest (from Queen Charlotte) are starring, and it drops August 1, just in time for her birthday. Perfect.Meaghan followed with the upcoming Carrie TV series. It’s being produced by Mike Flanagan, and we are both expecting big things. The hope is that turning it into a series will really let the Carrie-and-mother dynamic breathe and make the emotional breakdowns all the more brutal. Whether it’s set in the 70s or modernized, we don’t care, we’re watching.Then came The Long Walk by Stephen King, which has Shereen’s husband buzzing. It’s about boys forced to walk endlessly under dystopian conditions, and it's being directed by someone from the Hunger Games world. Sounds like an anxiety attack in movie form, which is exactly the vibe it’s going for.Next up was People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, due January 9 on Amazon. Meaghan has a thing for Henry’s style. Her romances toe the line between heartfelt and funny, and while Meaghan usually likes her romance a bit darker or weirder, she makes an exception here. Shereen, meanwhile, owns three Henry books and has read none of them. We’ve all been there.Colleen Hoover Chaos, Creepy Thrillers, and Twisted CruisesThen came the Colleen Hoover dump. Shirin bundled three upcoming adaptations into one shoutout: Regretting You, Reminders of Him, and Verity. The last of which stars Anne Hathaway. Meaghan and Shirin are mostly excited because they love making fun of Hoover’s chaotic plots and characters. Verity, they agree, is actually pretty decent. It veers into thriller territory and avoids some of Hoover’s more problematic tropes. Bring on the drama.Meaghan had another creepy pick: The Whisper Man by Alex North, featuring Robert De Niro. It’s about a serial killer whose crimes are mimicked years later in a small town. There’s whispering through windows, eerie disappearances, and maybe even supernatural twists. Definitely on her watch list.Shirin's next thrill was The Housemaid, which she’s converted her whole family into reading. It drops on Christmas Day 2025 in theaters and stars Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. She’s planning a full-on family book club around it. And yes, we’ll be going to the theater over the holidays.The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware is also getting adapted, with Keira Knightley set to star. Another thriller on a boat, another possible murder that no one believes actually happened. Meaghan’s all in. She loves Ruth Ware and thinks this one, dropping on Netflix in the fall, will be a great popcorn thriller.Classics, Hunger Games, and Guillermo’s ReturnOne adaptation that has us raising eyebrows is Wuthering Heights with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. It’s being directed by Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn), which adds some intrigue. We’re not sure about the casting, but we’re hoping for a bold, stylized approach.Speaking of big franchises, Sunrise on the Reaping, the new Hunger Games film, is set for release on November 20, 2026. Shirin thought the book was just okay, but still wants to see how it plays out on screen. The movies have been consistently stronger for her.The adaptation Meaghan is most pumped for? Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro, coming in December. She’s obsessed with his visual style and monster-love storytelling. We both agree that this needs a theatrical release. If Netflix keeps it streaming-only, it’ll be a crime against cinema. Between Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, and the gorgeous design we expect from Guillermo, this could be a showstopper.Narnia, Dragons, and So Many MoreShirin ended her list with The Magician’s Nephew, the first (chronologically) in the Chronicles of Narnia series, which Greta Gerwig is adapting. It hits theaters November 26 and drops on Netflix Christmas Day. The casting so far includes Daniel Craig and Emma Mackey, and we’re just plain curious how Greta will spin this origin story with no wardrobe in sight.And finally, we both agreed: even though there’s no release date, trailer, or cast announcement, we’re putting Fourth Wing on the list. It’s happening. Michael B. Jordan’s studio owns the rights, and we’re already imagining which actors will ride which dragons. Shereen joked about dressing her cats up as dragon characters, because obviously she would.Wrapping It Up: Why We Care (And You Probably Do Too)In the end, what made this episode fun wasn’t just listing off every adaptation under the sun; it was talking about what these projects mean to us. We all love books. We all get burned by them sometimes. But when a book we adore gets picked up for a screen version, the anticipation is unmatched. And the potential for disappointment? Sky high. We live for it.We get excited about who’s cast. We argue about whether the setting is true to the book. We dream about what could be, and sometimes we cringe at what we get. But that’s part of the joy. These adaptations connect us to stories in new ways and give us reasons to revisit the books, or finally read the ones we’ve been avoiding.So here’s to the next three years of adaptation madness. Keep building those watchlists, plan some book-to-movie nights, and maybe even read the book before the movie drops. It just makes everything better. See you next week for one last episode in this month-long adaptation celebration.
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  • This YA Adaptation Might Be Better Than The Book And We Didn't See It Coming
    We’re dropped right into Adaptations Month, and Meaghan and Shirin are fired up about one of the most talked-about YA adaptations in recent memory: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, now an eight-episode Amazon Prime series.Right away, we’re treated to some healthy debate. Shirin adores the book; she champions the writing, the twist, and the mood. Meaghan? Not so much. She found the prose pretentious and didn’t enjoy the tone at all. This dynamic sets the stage for a lively and honest conversation that’s far from sugar-coated.The book, first published in 2014, holds a kind of pop-culture cult status. It's a staple on “must-read” YA lists and has been adored (and criticized) for its dark twist and dreamy narration.The show adaptation dropped in June and currently holds a 6.6/10 on IMDb and a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, with both audience and critics matching scores, which the hosts point out as surprisingly rare. There's clear curiosity about how the adaptation stands up to the book and how viewers have received it.Breaking Down the Sinclair Family DramaThe story follows the Sinclair family, a wealthy old-money clan who summers on a private island called Beechwood off Martha’s Vineyard. The family patriarch, Harris Sinclair, and his wife Tipper (yes, those are the names) built individual homes on the island for each of their daughters: Carrie, Penny, and Bess. Penny is Cadence’s (Katie's) mom, our main character and narrator. Each woman has children, and their interactions form the backbone of the story.Every summer, the family returns to the island, and the teenage cousins, along with Ed’s nephew Gat, form a group known as “the Liars.” We watch this group grow, fracture, and unravel across two pivotal summers: Summer Sixteen and Summer Seventeen.Cadence experiences a mysterious accident in Summer Sixteen, one that leads to memory loss, trauma, and isolation. She’s told she needs to recover the memories on her own, but no one in her family will talk about what really happened. That’s the tension. That’s the story.We quickly learn that the family is deeply dysfunctional. The three sisters are competitive, toxic, and frequently cruel to each other and their children. There are fractures built on favoritism, inheritance squabbles, and the oppressive rule of Harris, who exerts power through manipulation.Meaghan and Shirin are quick to point out how relatable and painful these dynamics are, even if they’re dramatized through the extreme wealth and privilege of the Sinclair family.The Adaptation: What Worked, What Didn’tThe hosts appreciated the show's ability to visually distinguish timelines, for instance, Katie dyes her hair brown in Summer Seventeen, which makes the back-and-forth between past and present much easier to track. That little visual clue, while simple, goes a long way in helping the viewer follow the complex timeline.They also agree that the show did a good job capturing Katie’s slow, painful unraveling. As she pieces together the truth about what happened during Summer Sixteen, viewers are taken through fragmented flashbacks, clues, and unspoken cues from the people around her. There’s a slow burn, but one that keeps you guessing.However, the hosts were split on the show's tone. Meaghan couldn’t stand how much of the book’s prose, which she already disliked, made it into the show. Shirin felt the adaptation captured the dreamy, metaphor-rich storytelling of the original text. They were both impressed, though, with how well the show built out the adult characters, something the book couldn't do because it was told strictly from Katie’s point of view.Where the show shone was in its character development. The three sisters were given more emotional weight, especially Bess, played by Candice King (Caroline from The Vampire Diaries).Penny and Bess are both awful mothers, but Bess in particular has a redemptive arc that adds depth to her character, even if Shereen refuses to fully forgive her. Carrie, portrayed by Mamie Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter), is also given a solid backstory, including a history of addiction and the immense grief of losing her son.One of the biggest revelations is that Katie’s conversations with the other Liars in Summer Seventeen are hallucinations. Johnny, Mirren, and Gat, her beloved cousins and love interest, all died in the fire they set together the previous summer. Katie is the only survivor. The moment she remembers the family dogs perishing too hits particularly hard, both for the hosts and the viewers.The adaptation handled this twist masterfully. Even though readers of the book already know what's coming, the visual storytelling keeps it compelling. The Liars appear fully present, interact naturally, and are only revealed to be figments of Katie’s traumatized mind much later. The show plants subtle clues, like a little cousin asking Katie for a ghost story, and her replying that Marin should tell it, a chilling line, considering Marin is dead.Characters We Love (And Love To Hate)While the central romance between Katie and Gat didn’t work for either host, they found the actors had little chemistry, and Gat felt underwritten, they adored several supporting characters. Eben, a young Black man on the island, was a standout for both hosts. His observations about race and privilege injected authenticity and groundedness into the otherwise opulent storyline.Ed, Carrie’s longtime partner and Gat’s uncle, also stood out. Raoul Cooley brought depth and warmth to the character, especially given how he was mistreated by Harris and sidelined by the family. Harris himself, played by David Morse, is despicable but fascinating. His subtle manipulation, racism, and emotional abuse are layered in such a way that his true awfulness creeps up on you, much like it does for the family.Shirin and Meaghan appreciated how the show didn’t shy away from showing the Sinclairs as morally bankrupt, even when dressed in pastels and smiling for family photos. There’s a constant undercurrent of performative unity, especially in the final scenes when they pose for media photos to “look good,” even as their relationships are broken beyond repair.Wrapping It Up: Why The Show Might Be Better Than The BookIn the end, both hosts came to a surprising agreement: the show might actually be better than the book. It doesn’t happen often, but the added character development, the expansion of side plots, and the emotionally raw performances made the TV series more compelling overall.What really pushed it over the edge for Shirin was how the show focused on generational trauma, expectations placed on women, and the psychological consequences of wealth and privilege.Watching the three sisters grapple with their roles as mothers, daughters, and wives was more engaging than any teenage romance. The drama of their relationships, the fighting, the denial, the toxic parenting, was, as they said, “way more interesting than the will-they-won’t-they between Katie and Gat.”They also discussed the series' ending, which toys with the idea of ghosts and heaven a bit too much for their liking, but concluded that the show’s strength lies in its emotional realism, not supernatural mystery.The final verdict? Even if you didn’t love the book, the show’s worth a watch. It’s messy, emotionally complicated, and full of characters you’ll both hate and sympathize with, sometimes at the same time.
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  • Why Modern Adaptations Are Better Than Ever
    We started off this Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast episode by greeting everyone with excitement for July and reflecting on how summer used to be a time packed with massive blockbuster releases. We remember those days fondly, when movie theaters were our second homes during the hot months, and every Tuesday felt like a holiday because we could catch the latest release with cheap tickets.There was a nostalgic vibe as we recalled our favorite old, run-down theaters and how those experiences shaped our love of cinema. We laughed about how everyone’s collective obsession with Jonathan Bailey and his iconic glasses proves some things never change.We also acknowledged that the movie industry slowed down during the pandemic, but now it feels like we’re back to seeing huge summer releases again, reigniting that buzz we missed. This shift inspired us to look at how adaptations of books to film and TV have evolved over the years, especially with the rise of streaming services and changes in how we consume stories.The Evolution Of Adaptations: Then vs. NowThe hosts pointed out a striking difference between adaptations from the ‘90s and early 2000s compared to what we see today.Back then, it was all about flashy blockbusters: big budgets, famous stars, and marketing campaigns that cared more about spectacle than staying true to the book. We shared examples like The Godfather and James Bond films, where audiences often didn’t even realize they were adaptations of books.Even classics like Jaws, Psycho, and The Princess Bride fit this pattern; movies overshadowed their literary origins, and the books themselves rarely got a spotlight.We agreed that while there’s still some of that today, there’s a clear shift.Audiences are savvier, and studios now emphasize the source material more. Actors talk openly about reading the books to prepare for their roles, which feels like a refreshing change compared to the past when many proudly skipped the novel altogether. We explored how adaptations before 2016 felt more like cash grabs, focusing on box office appeal, but since then, there's been a noticeable effort to respect the author’s vision.Book Chat: What’s On Our Nightstands?In the middle of the conversation, we took a delightful detour to share what we’ve been reading. Shirin told us about Death in the Downline, a hilarious dark comedy-meets-murder-mystery involving an MLM scheme.She loved how Maria Abrams nailed the dark humor of direct sales culture, people using tragic events to shill products, which is both absurd and eerily true to life. We couldn’t stop laughing at examples of characters offering discounts in honor of the dearly departed.Meanwhile, Meaghan shared her excitement for Girl Next Door, an upcoming debut rom-com with LGBTQ+ themes that touches on complex relationships, high school crushes, and small-town drama. She appreciated how the book balanced lighthearted moments with serious topics, promising readers both depth and laughs. Meaghan promised to post a full review when she finishes, noting its September release.The Rise of Series Adaptations And Author InvolvementWe dove deep into why series adaptations have become the gold standard for book-to-screen translations. We argued that movies simply don’t have enough time to do justice to complex plots, inner monologues, and rich world-building.For books with multiple installments or intricate character arcs, a TV series allows creators to flesh out the story over several episodes, or even seasons, giving characters and themes room to breathe.One of the biggest changes we observed is the increasing involvement of authors in adaptations. Unlike decades past, where authors often sold rights and lost control, now many are listed as executive producers or consultants.We pointed to examples like Diana Gabaldon with Outlander, Hugh Howey with Silo, and Robin Carr with Sullivan’s Crossing. Having authors directly involved often leads to more faithful adaptations and happier fans. We celebrated how this trend gives authors a say in how their stories are interpreted on screen, and we hope it continues.Hits, Misses, And The Future Of AdaptationsNo conversation about adaptations would be complete without a rant about the bad ones, and we had plenty to say! We revisited flops like the Percy Jackson movies, which aged up characters unnecessarily and lost the heart of the books.We also slammed The Golden Compass movie, which butchered Philip Pullman’s incredible series with sloppy storytelling. Shirin even shared how the bad movie adaptation soured her on the later TV version, despite positive reviews.On the flip side, we applauded successful adaptations like Gone Girl, where a high-profile director, a star-studded cast, and respect for the source material made for a gripping film. We also praised Shadow and Bone for creatively merging two series with the help of author Leigh Bardugo, which showed how collaboration can turn a complicated universe into a compelling show.We observed how the rise of streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV fueled the adaptation boom. With their constant need for new content and big budgets, they tapped into existing books with built-in audiences, ensuring at least some initial interest.We discussed how the social media era amplifies feedback: fans celebrate faithful adaptations but also quickly and loudly condemn bad ones. Studios now have to tread carefully, knowing poor execution will spark viral backlash.We wrapped up by acknowledging that while not every adaptation will please everyone, we’re encouraged by the overall trend toward honoring books and giving authors creative input. We feel hopeful about the future, imagining a world where even more stories we love find their way to the screen in ways that stay true to what made them special in the first place.Final Thoughts And What’s NextWe closed the episode by teasing upcoming discussions on newer adaptations we’re excited about, and some we might dread.We plan to spend the month of July exploring different examples, unpacking what works, what doesn’t, and what we’d like to see going forward. We agreed that adaptations don’t need to be word-for-word recreations, but we want to see creators who care about the original work and respect what made it resonate with readers in the first place.Ultimately, we’re thrilled to see authors getting credit, adaptations getting smarter, and audiences more engaged than ever. We can’t wait to continue the conversation and hear what you, our fellow book lovers, think about this evolution. Let’s keep hoping for adaptations that make us feel the same magic we did the first time we turned those pages.
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  • Why The Da Vinci Code Movie Bombed: Our Hilarious Rewatch And Hot Takes
    We kick off with the hosts’ cheerful greeting and their confession that they recorded the Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast ahead of schedule, joking that it is “the last week of June… but not really.” They remind us that June on Fully-Booked has been all about banned books, and they want to finish with something big.While scanning international censorship lists, Meaghan notices that The Da Vinci Code has been pulled from shelves in Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, and the Philippines. The reason is simple enough: some Christian leaders find the novel’s ideas offensive.Shirin admits she did not realize Lebanon has such a large Christian population, and the pair laugh at their own ignorance before pivoting to the film version they are about to rewatch. They also poke fun at their ongoing knack for picking “the worst movie adaptation possible,” a running joke that keeps listeners feeling part of an inside circle.Revisiting The Da Vinci Code: Book Hype, Film Fever, and Worldwide UproarWe move from playful chit-chat to the cultural moment of 2003, when Dan Brown’s novel exploded onto every bookstore display.The hosts recall how the familiar red hardcover stamped with a sliver of the Mona Lisa seemed to stare you down in every airport. Within two years, the book had sold tens of millions of copies, appeared in forty-plus languages, and sparked feverish speculation about secret societies, coded messages, and a hidden bloodline of Christ.And Hollywood pounced. In 2006, Ron Howard delivered a glossy blockbuster starring Tom Hanks, Alfred Molina, Ian McKellen, and Paul Bettany. At the time, Shirin remembers thinking the movie was “the shit,” full of twists that felt like National Treasure with better haircuts.Yet outside a Boston theater on opening night, she saw live protests, something a Canadian teenager did not expect on a school trip. That mash-up of box-office buzz and genuine outrage fascinates the hosts; it proves a thriller can still hit raw nerves when it challenges sacred stories.National Treasure, Nicolas Cage, and Tangents We Can’t ResistBecause no Fully-Booked episode is complete without at least one joyful detour, we zoom off to Shirin’s devotion to National Treasure.She owns a T-shirt with Nicolas Cage’s face, and the declaration “I’m gonna steal the Declaration,” makes her husband watch the film annually and defend its goofy charm at every opportunity.Meaghan, who once watched the movie constantly with her mother, agrees it is “terrible but fun.” Comparing ratings, they discover that Cage’s romp actually edges out The Da Vinci Code on Rotten Tomatoes, an outcome they find both hilarious and strangely satisfying.This lighthearted break matters. It shows how personal nostalgia shapes our judgment. Sometimes we cling to a so-so movie because it reminds us of family vacations or Friday sleepovers, not because it is a cinematic masterpiece. We feel that tug, too; I still grin whenever I hear Cage whisper “I’m going to steal it,” and I suspect many listeners have a similar guilty-pleasure favorite.Characters, Plot Holes, and Why the Film Falls FlatBack to business: the hosts dissect why the 2006 adaptation drags. First, length.At two-and-a-half hours, it spread over three separate viewing sessions in Meaghan’s living room. Second, plausibility.The victim supposedly staggers through the Louvre after being shot in the gut, leaving a breadcrumb trail of riddles in his own blood, yet still has the mental clarity to craft a sophisticated code. We agree with the hosts that this stretches believability to comic levels; our stomach hurts just imagining the crawl, never mind the cryptography. Third, character depth.In the book, Sophie Neveu is a brilliant police cryptographer; on screen, she turns doe-eyed, waiting for Robert Langdon to solve everything. Tom Hanks, lovable as ever, cannot overcome a script that reduces side characters to exposition machines.It feels as if a longer, richer draft was chopped down by anxious studio editors trying to hit a release date. The result is a movie that teaches the audience how to Google but forgets to give its heroine agency. We nod along when the hosts groan, “This person who’s this intelligent would not act like that.”Final Thoughts: Rating Rants, Unfinished Franchises, and What Comes NextWrapping up, the hosts admit they wanted to love the film. They felt a pang of nostalgia, hitting play, wishing the old rush of “twist on every page” would return.Instead, they found themselves pausing for snacks, baby duties, and the occasional disbelief-fuelled rant. Rotten Tomatoes sits at a meager 25 percent critic score, and once the hosts read that aloud, they cannot unsee the flaws.Meanwhile, Angels and Demons and Inferno limp on with the same creative team but never reclaim the lightning in a bottle. Even a short-lived TV spin-off, The Lost Symbol, failed to survive past one season.The conversation closes with laughter, apologies to any die-hard fans, and a promise that Meaghan will choose next month’s adaptations more carefully. The bigger takeaway is relatable: we all remember a book or movie that blew our adolescent minds, only to find it wobbly on rewatch.The hosts show us it’s okay to change our minds, poke fun at past tastes, and still respect the cultural storm a story once created. As we finish, we feel like we sat on the couch with two friends who love books, love movies, and love cracking jokes about both, exactly the kind of company we crave when the credits roll.
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  • Why These 10 Books Were The Most Banned And Why That Should Worry You
    We started the Fully-Booked Podcast episode with some personal updates and our latest reads. Meaghan had just finished The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, a fast-paced thriller that she found both fun and perplexing in terms of what to expect from its sequels. She mentioned how Shirin tends to dive into one author's entire catalogue when she discovers a book she enjoys, and this time it was her turn to follow suit.Shirin, on the other hand, had just wrapped up Sunrise on the Reaping, the most recent Hunger Games novel. Neither of us is a die-hard fan of the series, but we both appreciated certain elements, especially when previous entries focused on characters like President Snow.Shirin noted that while the book was fine, it felt repetitive, echoing Katniss’ journey in the original trilogy. She admitted she might not have read it had the movie already been out, highlighting how closely these books and films tend to mirror each other.The ALA’s 2024 Challenged Book DataThe main focus of this episode was the alarming increase in book censorship across North America, especially in the United States. Shirin had been diving into data from the American Library Association (ALA), and the numbers were staggering. In 2024 alone, there were 4,190 book titles challenged, mostly pushed by pressure groups and influenced decision-makers, not just concerned parents. For context, from 2001 to 2020, an average of only 46 titles were challenged each year.What really stood out was how the nature of these censorship efforts had shifted. Back in the early 2000s, only 6% of challenges came from organized groups. In 2024, that number skyrocketed to 72%. Most of the targeted books contained LGBTQ+ themes, racial identity, social justice, or stories of personal trauma and coming-of-age.This prompted us to ask: Why are people so threatened by lived experience, empathy, and diversity in storytelling? It seems that instead of aiming to protect children, these groups are trying to erase stories that reflect the reality of many people's lives.Exploring The Top 10 Most Challenged BooksWe broke down the top 10 most challenged books of 2024, and unsurprisingly, they shared common themes; queer identity, racial struggle, gender exploration, addiction, and trauma.Books like All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe were high on the list, both memoirs focused on LGBTQ+ identity. We also saw classic literary staples still getting flak, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison being one of them, which surprised us because it's been around since 1970. Apparently, we’re still not ready to have honest conversations about race.Titles like Looking for Alaska, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl were also included, all of which cover complex teenage emotions and situations: suicide, sexuality, and death. Other books like Crank and Sold dealt with heavy, real-world issues like drug addiction and human trafficking.We asked each other: What exactly are people afraid of here? Why is it seen as dangerous to talk about these subjects when they’re happening in real life? It feels absurd to ban a story about a teen struggling with meth because it might "influence" readers, when in fact these stories can educate and offer emotional insight. The irony is almost unbearable.The Situation in CanadaWhile the U.S. tends to get most of the attention in these discussions, we didn’t let Canada off the hook. Meaghan brought up that even here, we’re seeing a troubling rise in book challenges. In 2024, 119 titles were challenged, with another 30 already flagged in early 2025. The primary reasons echoed those in the U.S., objections to LGBTQ+ themes, “explicit” content, and gender diversity.The data came from the Canadian Library Challenges Database, which is backed by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Centre for Free Expression. A lot of the concerns were about age appropriateness, but even that excuse feels like a smokescreen for discomfort with difference.However, there was a silver lining. BookNet Canada reported that LGBTQ+ fiction sales actually rose by 34% in the last quarter of 2024. Clearly, when you try to silence something, it can make people even more curious. People want stories that represent who they are, and thankfully, we’re in a time where those books are being written, published, and read.The Power of Storytelling and RepresentationThis episode ultimately came down to a shared belief in the importance of storytelling and the power of representation. We reflected on how bookstores and libraries are fighting back. Displays of banned books are becoming more common, and institutions like Barnes & Noble and public libraries are leaning into the controversy by highlighting these works.Nearly half of public libraries now offer banned book displays, up 15% since 2020. Publishers also continue to support these stories, showing there’s still a demand, and that matters. If publishers stopped backing these authors, then we’d really be in trouble.We ended by reaffirming that censorship doesn’t protect, it stifles. If someone finds a topic uncomfortable, they can choose not to read it. That’s their right. But trying to take that right away from others? That’s not okay.In the end, we were fired up, but hopeful. Because for every book banned, there’s a reader who finds it and feels seen. That’s the kind of power stories have, and that’s worth protecting.
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O Fully-Booked: Literary Podcast

A Podcast for Casual Bookworms Everywhere. Every week, join co hosts Meaghan & Shirin as they share their thoughts & opinions about books and their adaptations-the good, the bad & the crappy of it all. Do they have any expertise? No. Are they going to tackle all that the literary world has to offer anyway? You bet. New episodes drop every Friday.
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